Article Link How to be the worst trainer ever, w/funny video

[jessicavi]

I can't believe people actually pay to let others abuse them like that. That's such a travesty.

[Eibhinn]

Originally Posted by Sue B

Dance classes were a nightmare for me.

One problem with the article and video is that it's really more about bad-good trainers than the worst of the worst, because it's about people who are really knowledgeable, but have absolutely no bedside manner and can't share their knowledge in a productive and helpful manner. The worst are people who don't have sufficient knowledge in the first place. I think this can sometimes be a problem in the dance world, too, since not all dance styles necessarily have certification/training programs where anatomical training etc. is needed before starting to teach.

I had a really bad experience with a bellydance instructor I took private lessons with - while she could dance fairly well, I eventually realized she wasn't nearly as experienced as she let on, and she didn't have the anatomical, or even technical, knowledge to be able to translate her dance ability into teaching ability, especially when a student had a technique problem she herself hadn't experienced. I carry a lot of tension in my upper body, which translates into alignment problems in my shoulders. My shoulder shimmies and snake-arms suffered, but all the teacher could do was tell me it was wrong. She would stand there, head cocked, telling me it looked ugly. When I asked how to fix it, she had no concrete suggestions - she would just demonstrate and say, "do it like this." And I'd try, fail, and she'd say, "no no no! Like this. Yours look wrong!" After weeks of being told my armwork was wrong and ugly, I managed to extricate myself from the situation. I actually eventually learned to fix the problem myself using DVDs.

Originally Posted by Lucky Star

I watched about half of the video. Really unpleasant. I'm surprised clients would allow themselves to be spoken to that way... do they, you think?

I think part of the point of the article is warning personal trainers that if they train like this, their clients are far less likely to continue training with them.

[msladybug]

Originally Posted by Eibhinn

One problem with the article and video is that it's really more about bad-good trainers than the worst of the worst, because it's about people who are really knowledgeable, but have absolutely no bedside manner and can't share their knowledge in a productive and helpful manner. The worst are people who don't have sufficient knowledge in the first place. I think this can sometimes be a problem in the dance world, too, since not all dance styles necessarily have certification/training programs where anatomical training etc. is needed before starting to teach.

I had a really bad experience with a bellydance instructor I took private lessons with - while she could dance fairly well, I eventually realized she wasn't nearly as experienced as she let on, and she didn't have the anatomical, or even technical, knowledge to be able to translate her dance ability into teaching ability, especially when a student had a technique problem she herself hadn't experienced. I carry a lot of tension in my upper body, which translates into alignment problems in my shoulders. My shoulder shimmies and snake-arms suffered, but all the teacher could do was tell me it was wrong. She would stand there, head cocked, telling me it looked ugly. When I asked how to fix it, she had no concrete suggestions - she would just demonstrate and say, "do it like this." And I'd try, fail, and she'd say, "no no no! Like this. Yours look wrong!" After weeks of being told my armwork was wrong and ugly, I managed to extricate myself from the situation. I actually eventually learned to fix the problem myself using DVDs.



I think part of the point of the article is warning personal trainers that if they train like this, their clients are far less likely to continue training with them.

You've made me appreciate my belly dance teacher even more than I did already. Some movements....be they dance or weight lifting, need to be taught in a progression. The instructor has to be willing and able to meet the student there the student is, and build from there. And in a class situation, where there are multiple students who bodies are all different and who all learn at a different pace....instruction can suffer.

Like you, I found the right DVD can be awesome for training in bellydance. Those movements need to be drilled individually until they become fluid, then you can combine and layer movements. DVD can fill that gap. And long after I've learned a movement well....I go back to those DVD's to keep the technique precise and fluid.